Chapter 38

Cyrus's decision to bring extra soldiers with him had undoubtedly been the right one.

It was precisely because of that that they had managed to leave the royal city successfully, shake off the royal city knights pursuing them, and temporarily stop somewhere relatively safe.

Nat Case's face was covered in tears and snot, and he looked utterly miserable.

His father, Marco Case, had taken an arrow for him. The arrow had struck him squarely in the abdomen, knocking him unconscious at once. Fortunately, Walker and Taylor had saved him afterward.

Marco Case lay on the ground, his face pale and his lips utterly bloodless. His robe was tattered... He looked no different from a dead man.

Walker had run out of extra ointment.

He reached out to check Marco's breathing. It was very faint, and there was simply no way to provide effective treatment in a place like this...

Walker did not say anything, but the expression on his face said it all.

Nat Case immediately broke down sobbing. "Father, don't die! As long as you live, I'll obediently listen to your teachings from now on. I... Father?!"

"Cough, cough cough."

Marco Case suddenly clutched his chest and began coughing violently, a faint flush returning to his face.

He opened his eyes and said weakly, "Cough... Nat, from now on... will you really be obedient? Cough cough..."

Cyrus said in surprise, "Walker, hurry and help the marquis up."

Nat Case froze, then hurried to support him as well. "F-Father, how are you?"

Marco Case leaned weakly against Walker.

After catching his breath, he reached out and, with a forceful pull, removed the arrow from his abdomen. There was not a trace of blood on its tip.

Amid everyone's stunned or astonished expressions, Marco Case took out a gold coin from where it had rested against his belt. Its center had already been dented inward.

He looked at Cyrus and said, "This is the coin the count threw out earlier..."

He had picked up the gold coin Cyrus had thrown out to attract the knights' attention, then casually tucked it by his belt. He had never expected it to accidentally save his life.

But the impact of the arrow had not been light, and there was also the injury on his back... In the end, Marco Case had fainted from the exhaustion and pain caused by that string of events.

"Creator God bless us!"

Nat Case wiped the tears from his face and let out a long sigh of relief.

Cyrus could not help feeling fortunate as well.

The Creator God truly had blessed them.

He said, "We can't return to the royal city. You and Nat should leave with us."

Marco Case nodded in agreement.

Nat had no objections either. His mother had passed away long ago and gone into the Creator God's embrace. Other than his father, he no longer had anything tying him to the royal city.

Besides, things had already reached this point. Bass Riches would never let them go, so leaving the royal city was the best choice.

Although the ointment had run out,

Judas had brought herbal medicine with him. They only needed to find a safer place along the way, somewhere less likely to be discovered by royal city knights, and brew it.

With that, Marco Case's injuries gradually began to improve.

Along the way, Walker led Taylor and Bana in counterattacks against the royal city knights, clearing away the traces they left behind. At last, they successfully escaped the royal city knights' pursuit.

They were now getting closer and closer to Visas and Komoy Fort.

Late at night, four days later.

The soldiers Walker had sent back at top speed had already notified Ferdinand and the others. The two sides met some distance away from Komoy Fort.

Ferdinand arrived with a group of soldiers. "Where is the count?"

"Shh."

Walker held a finger to his lips, pointed in Judas's direction, and whispered, "The count is asleep."

They had been fleeing and traveling nonstop for days.

Cyrus had not relaxed for a long time. His nerves had been stretched taut, and he had barely rested. Even adults could hardly endure that, much less a young child like him...

Now that Visas and Komoy Fort were no longer far away, the area had undoubtedly become safer. With Ferdinand also on his way, everyone's nerves unconsciously relaxed.

Cyrus was naturally no exception.

His eyelids grew heavy. With Judas patting and holding him, he finally could not hold on any longer and closed his eyes.

When Ferdinand followed Walker's fingertip and looked over, Cyrus was lying on Judas's back, one cheek pressed against his shoulder as he let out soft snores.

Looking closely, the bruised shadows beneath his eyes had not yet faded.

The worry in Ferdinand's heart finally settled, and his expression softened. "Come on, let's go back."

"Aw, awooo."

Cyrus lay in bed. He felt something soft and furry brushing against his forehead, while spoiled little howls kept sounding in his ears. The atmosphere around him was safe and familiar.

Cyrus's eyelashes trembled as he slowly opened his eyes... The first thing he saw was the tip of a snow-white, fluffy tail.

He turned his head and saw Snowball lying beside him. Looking farther down, Coalball was sprawled by his feet.

Feeling weakness and soreness flood through his body, Cyrus propped himself up on his arms and sat up. His voice was slightly hoarse as he said, "Coalball, Snowball."

"Awoo."

Seeing that he had moved, Coalball and Snowball immediately got up, then rubbed against him and burrowed into his arms.

Hearing the sound, Toby rushed into the room from outside and shouted in delight, "The count is awake!"

Not long afterward, Judas, Ferdinand, and the others all entered and gathered around the bed.

Cyrus asked, "How long was I asleep?"

"Only one night, Count," Judas said.

"We returned to Visas last night. Yadai has carefully treated Marquis Case's wound, and Young Master Nat is currently keeping the marquis company."

Cyrus nodded. "That's good."

That afternoon, everyone had more or less settled down and rested. They gathered in the study, Marco Case included, to discuss matters.

Cyrus asked, "What is the situation in the royal city? Have we received any news?"

Bass Riches's plan to secretly threaten and coerce the lords had been exposed.

On their way back to Visas, they had not forgotten to leave hidden lookouts along the route to monitor activity in the royal city and ensure they did not miss any important information.

Walker said, "After the church in the royal city was burned down, the temple was also destroyed the next day."

"Now, rumors are spreading throughout Gadayat that Bass Riches's slaughter of the royal family enraged the Creator God, and that this was the Creator God's punishment... Many estate owners and commoners are resisting him."

Yet it had not accomplished much.

Cyrus guessed that the destruction of Kaies Church and the temple had both been the Pope's doing. After all, apart from him, no one else would likely dare do such things in the royal city.

It seemed that Bishop Bolton and the acting bishop would probably meet very miserable ends.

He said, "Since Bass Riches dared to plot for the throne, he would not care about the estate owners' and commoners' opinions or the rumors."

At most, his reputation would be poor, and his claim to the throne would lack legitimacy.

Walker said, "That's right. So, according to the latest news from the lookouts, Bass Riches ascended the throne yesterday, and..."

"And what?"

Ferdinand continued in a low voice, "Before ascending the throne, he killed eleven lords."

"At present, six cities in Gadayat have become places without lords... I believe Bass Riches's next plan is to send knights to reclaim those territories that have lost their lords."

Cyrus frowned. "Which cities?"

Judas brought over a map of Gadayat and pointed them out to him.

Walker said, "Two of those cities are very close to Komoy Fort."

"Bass Riches absolutely cannot reclaim those two cities. Count, we can seize those places and incorporate them into our territory before he does."

At the very least, they could not sit around and wait for death.

Judas said, "But under what pretext?"

Marco Case said, "As I recall, the count also shares some blood ties with the late king... According to the kingdom's laws, if the royal family has no direct heir, an outstanding person may be selected from a collateral branch to inherit the throne."

At those words, everyone present looked toward the young lord seated at the head of the table.

Cyrus said, "..."

He could not help swinging his legs. After placing the map back on the table, he said, "Why do I have to become king? I can remain a lord and turn all of Gadayat into my territory."

Ferdinand and Walker exchanged a glance. "The count means...?"

Cyrus said, "Bass Riches cannot be left with any of those six cities. All of them must be incorporated into my territory."

"Not only that. Mark every road, city, and other location leading to Visas and Komoy Fort. Send soldiers to capture them and station troops there."

Since Bass Riches was his absolute enemy, Cyrus had to keep the initiative in his own hands.

Besides, the Black Cavalry and White Cavalry under his command far outnumbered the royal city knights.

Only if the lords who had sided with Bass Riches gathered all the knights from their territories in the royal city would they have any chance of confronting him.

But if they defeated them one by one, the threat would be reduced to a minimum.

They would not simply let the danger and pursuit they had faced in Kaies, the royal city, pass by. Leaving Bass Riches alive would always be a danger.

Cyrus said, "Besides keeping an eye on the royal city, Ferdinand, order some soldiers to gather information about Gaina. We must prevent Bruno Green from contacting Bass Riches and sending knights to Gadayat as reinforcements."

Ferdinand nodded. "Yes, Count."

Cyrus was not worried at all that he would fail in his confrontation with Bass Riches.

As had been said before, the number of knights a lord could possess was not large.

Even a duke in Gadayat only possessed between one hundred and two hundred knights.

Cyrus's recruitment plan had originally been meant to strengthen the defenses of Visas and Komoy Fort. Moreover, the soldiers trained every day without interruption according to military methods, improving their physiques and abilities.

From squads to platoons, and even between companies, they coordinated closely with one another and drilled often.

Cyrus did not believe the soldiers in his territory would lose to the royal city knights.

Time was the key now.

As long as he captured the six cities that had lost their lords first, he would gain the upper hand.

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